Deserved Punishment?

The Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Dante Stallworth was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from a DUI in which he killed a man. As a result, his sentence was 30 days in jail, a fine, 2 years of house arrest (but he was still able to play football), 8 years of probation and his license revoked for life.

Today the NFL Commissioner came out and decided to indefinitely suspend Stallworth citing the following statement:
"The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Stallworth in a letter Thursday, the league said. Excerpts from the letter were posted on the NFL Web site.

"While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL."

While the family of the deceased was good with his punishment, I 'm sure that Stallworth thought he was getting a good deal since he still got to play football. And yet I felt shock when I first read this. Is this a deserved punishment?

And then the reality that too many people - not to mention famous athletes that make bad decisions, get off too light in the wake of tragic circumstances came to mind. I commend Roger Goodell for always waiting for the justice system to sort things out (like with Michael Vick) before taking action. And at the same time - taking additional action than the justice system did.

I find a sad irony in the notion that these stars make enough money that they can either ay to be chauffeured when they are drinking or have a member of their "posse" drive them around. You would hope that one would be smarter. i just hopes this helps with the education of our youth.